A Different Kind of Family
by Heavenly Pearl
Summary: On a vacation with his girlfriend Penelope, Percy realizes that even though he may not be on the best terms with his family at the moment, he can count on one person to always be there for him. Set during OotP


Note before reading: This story takes place during the timeline of "Order of the Phoenix" and was written shortly before "Deathly Hollows" was released, so there are no spoilers for the last book. However, should something in this fic contradict later canon (which I don't think it does, other than possibly the question of Penelope's bloodline), please consider it AR/AU.

A Different Kind of Family

The phrase "taking a holiday" was not a part of Percy Weasley's vocabulary.

A workaholic through and through, it had been so long since he had a break from his job as the junior assistant to Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, he doubted he even remembered how to relax. However, he had promised Penelope, his live-in girlfriend, that they would do something special for her twentiethbirthday, so, with some reluctance, he finally used some of his allotted holidays to take the entire week of her birthday off.

She deserved it, though. Sometimes Percy was amazed she was still with him. Most women, after dealing with his late nights at the Ministry of Magic and his almost obsessive devotion to his job, would have packed up their things and moved out months ago, but not Penelope. She believed in him and supported him one hundred percent in his career, which was more than he could say about certain people he could name.

Percy shook his head. He didn't want to think about his family, not today. Today was supposed to be about Penelope. After placing the last of their luggage in the boot of the convertible they had rented -- since getting her driver's license, Muggle-born Penelope preferred driving the Muggle way to flying and Apparition -- Percy got in on the passenger side and buckled his seatbelt.

Penelope, who was already behind the wheel, put on a pair of sunglasses and grinned as she started the car. "I can't believe this," she said. "Are you sure I'm not dreaming? I get you to myself for one entire week? No having to share you with Minister Fudge? No late calls in the middle of the night to wake us up?"

"That is the plan."

She leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek, her smile widening. "Thank you, Percy. This is the best birthday gift you could have ever given me."

With that, she pulled out of the parking space in front of the London flat they shared and into the city traffic.

The two of them were heading to the Cornwall coast. Penelope's well-to-do parents owned a small vacation house on a private beach there, which they had generously allowed them to borrow for the week. Percy had never been there before, so he was quite looking forward to it.

"So, exactly how far is it to this beach?" Percy asked once they had left the London city limits, grabbing a bottle of Butterbeer from the hamper in the backseat.

"Oh, not far. It's about a four to five hour drive from London."

Percy almost choked on his drink when he heard that. "Four to five hours? If we had Apparated, we'd already be there."

"Oh, Percy." Penelope sighed and shook her head, her mane of curly hair flapping wildly in the wind as she sped down the road. "Sometimes it's not about getting somewhere the fastest way possible. Sometimes it's fun just to enjoy the ride. Aren't you enjoying it?"

Well, Percy had to admit he didn't hate it. With the top of the convertible down and the wind blowing in their faces, it almost felt like flying on a broom, something he rarely did anymore since he got his Apparition license. Apparition was a much more effective mode of transportation, in his opinion, but not quite as much fun to do, though he would never admit it.

"It's okay, I suppose," he said, and Penelope giggled, seeing right through his fake nonchalance.

"You like it, and you know it, Percy Weasley."

He didn't protest her claim, simply smiling as Penelope turned up the volume on the car radio and began singing along, slightly off-key, to a Muggle song he didn't know.

A few hours later, they had finally arrived. Percy's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when Penelope parked about a hundred feet behind a beautiful three-storey beachfront home, almost twice the size of the Burrow. If that was what Penelope considered small, he wondered what she would think when he took her home to meet his family. _If_ he ever took her home to the Burrow, he quickly corrected in his mind, frowning and berating himself again for thinking of his family.

Fortunately, Penelope didn't seem to notice his reaction, too caught up in her own thoughts and memories. "Isn't it simply stunning?" she gushed, getting out of the car and looking out at the crashing ocean. "It's just like I remembered it. My sisters Helen and Daphne and I used to spend hours on this beach, playing in the water and building sa--" Abruptly, she stopped, and, turning around to face Percy, who had began unloading their luggage from the back of the car, she said softly, "I'm sorry, Percy."

"What for?" he asked, despite knowing full well why she was apologizing. Penelope was still very close with her family, but ever since Percy had stopped speaking with his, she rarely talked about hers, mistakenly thinking any mention of families would upset him. Percy sighed. "Penny, it's fine. You don't have to censor yourself around me."

"I know, but…" Smiling, she shook her head and grabbed a couple of her bags. "Never mind. Come on, let's go unpack and change into our swimsuits. Last one in the water is a rotten egg!"

Around thirty minutes later, Percy and Penelope had finished putting their things away and changed. Thanks to his fair, easily burned skin -- the curse of being a redhead -- Percy covered up in a pair of long swim trunks, a short-sleeved shirt which he left unbuttoned, and a large straw hat. Even though the magically-concocted sunscreen he used was supposed to last all day without reapplying, he knew from personal experience that it was better to be safe, than sorry.

Penelope had no such worries, choosing a one-piece blue swimming costume with a daring cut-out on one side that showed off most of her midriff. Upon seeing her in that, Percy was almost convinced that it might be more fun to stay inside, taking that cossie off, but Penelope was anxious to get in the water, so after grabbing a couple of lounge chairs and a large umbrella from off the patio, he followed her onto the sandy beach, chuckling as she immediately ran into the ocean as if she was a little kid again.

"Come on, Percy!" she shouted to him, waving her arms in the air. "The water feels great."

"Maybe later," he called back as he set up the chairs and umbrella in the sand. "I want to let that sandwich I ate on the way up here digest a little more before I swim."

Penelope rolled her eyes, hands on her hips. "Fuddy-duddy!" she teased playfully before going further into the water.

Once he had finished setting up, Percy sat down on one of the chairs and reached for the tote bag he had brought out with him. Inside was a couple of extra towels, flip-flops, his bottle of sunscreen, and a pair of sunglasses, but hidden underneath it all was a file folder he had managed to sneak inside his luggage without Penelope noticing, containing a few upcoming speeches and press releases Minister Fudge had asked him to look over if he had the chance. With Penelope having the time of her life, playing amongst the waves, it was the perfect time to sneak in a little work.

After all, he wouldn't _truly _be able to relax until he had finished.

He was only halfway through the first speech, though, when a shadow not coming from the umbrella fell over him, blocking his light. Annoyed, Percy looked up from his papers to see Penelope standing in front of him, arms crossed over her chest.

"Oh, P-Penny!" He quickly put the speech back in the file folder, futilely trying to hide it, although he knew she had probably already seen what it was. "I was ju--"

"You were just working," Penelope completed for him, snatching the folder from his hand. "Percy Ignatius Weasley, you _promised _me that you were going to relax this week!"

"I was rela-- I'm sorry, Penny," he apologized, changing his tune when he saw the look on his girlfriend's face. "You're right. I'll put it away."

Percy stood up and held out his hand, expecting Penelope to give the folder back to him. However, a mischievous gleam suddenly appeared in her eyes, and she took off, laughing and shouting, "If you want them back, come and catch me!"

Percy sighed and shook his head. Well, if she was going to put it that way…

"You're on!"

* * *

Even after Penelope eventually let Percy catch her, he did not go back to work. The two of them spent the rest of the day together, playing, laughing, and making out like two newlyweds on their honeymoon. Percy couldn't remember the last time he had so much fun, but, even so, as he lay in bed later that night, Penelope asleep beside him, he couldn't stop thinking about work.

It wasn't urgent business; Fudge didn't need anything in that folder until the end of the month. Despite that, Percy didn't feel right about goofing off when there was still work to be done. That was just the way he was.

So, as quietly as he could, he slipped out of bed and put on his robe and glasses, tiptoeing toward the door. He was just about to turn the doorknob when --

"Can't work," Penelope mumbled in her sleep, causing Percy to freeze in his tracks. "Hid folder when you were in the shower."

Damn, how did she know?

"I'm just going to get a late night snack," he whispered, walking back to the bed and kissing her on the cheek. "I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?"

She nodded, her eyes still closed, and Percy headed downstairs, making a show of at least doing what he said. He wasn't hungry, though, so he bypassed the kitchen and headed to Penelope's father's library instead.

Nathaniel Clearwater had founded one of the largest publishing houses in Britain, and thus owned a rather large collection of Muggle literature. Penelope liked to reminisce about all the hours she spent reading her father's books as a child, being transported to magical worlds she never imagined could be real until she received her Hogwarts letter. Only a fraction of the collection was stored at the beach house, but Percy was sure he'd find something interesting to read.

What he did find, by pure luck, was his file folder. "Aha!" he exclaimed when he saw the tiny corner sticking out from between two old photo albums. Had he not been browsing the bookcase, he never would have seen it. "Nice try, Penny, but not good enough, I'm afraid."

He had to pull out one of the photo albums in order to pry the folder out of its spot, but just as Percy was about to put the album back on the shelf, something stopped him. Bringing both the album and the folder to Mr. Clearwater's desk, he set the folder aside and opened the album to the first page, immediately wishing he hadn't.

He felt a sharp pain in his heart as he looked down at the smiling faces of the Clearwater family, so obviously full of love and joy.

They were one big happy family, just like the one he used to have.

Sighing, Percy took off his glasses and rubbed at his forehead. Why was he letting a bunch of pictures get to him like this? It was silly.

Still…

"Percy?"

He looked up. Penelope, dressed in one of his T-shirts, stood in the doorway.

"Penny, what are you doing up?" he asked, putting his glasses back on. "I thought you were asleep."

"You didn't come back." Entering the library, she came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "What are you looking at?"

"It's nothing."

Percy started to close the photo album but was stopped by Penelope, who frowned. "You're missing your family."

"Nonsense," he lied, bitterness coating his voice. "I'm well rid of them. They never did respect me, especially Fred and George. Mum was the only one who was ever proud of me, yet…"

He didn't finish, still angry at the fact that his mother hadn't said a word in his defense to stop his father from saying the horrible things he did.

"That doesn't mean it isn't true," Penelope said, turning Percy around in his chair and sitting on his lap. "Percy, I know it isn't the same, but let me be your family."

His eyes widened. "What do you mean? Do you want to get married?" he asked. He loved Penelope, of course, but Percy wasn't sure he was ready for marriage just yet.

To his relief, she shook her head. "Someday, yes, of course, but that's not what I meant," she said. "I just want you to know you aren't alone in the world. I'll always be there for you, no matter what, so, please, consider me your family."

Touched by her words, Percy smiled and embraced her. No, it wouldn't be the same, but he liked the idea of Penelope being his family. At least he knew he could always count on her, no matter what.

"Yes, let's be a family."

DISCLAIMER: The "Harry Potter" series belongs to J.K. Rowling.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Extra special thanks to Starsea, who britpicked this piece for me. This is the uncut version of a piece I wrote for .moon's Summer Challenge - Vacation.


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